Following a hefty points deduction, Juventus will look to climb up the Serie A ladder with a second victory on the spin when they host Fiorentina on Sunday.
Only two points separate Juventus and Fiorentina in the Serie A table as they go head-to-head at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday night.
Juventus appeared to be bearing the brunt of their off-field shenanigans on the pitch last month, going three league games without a victory around the same time they were docked 15 points in Serie A for false accounting. However, Massimiliano Allegri’s men appear to have learned to live with the ramifications of their newfound place in the Italian top flight of late.
Their Scudetto hopes were completely destroyed. So they are expected to fight tooth and nail in the Coppa Italia, where they ousted Lazio in early February to set up a semi-final clash with Inter in the semi-final. After that, what followed was a real morale booster.
Dusan Vlahovic inspired Juventus to a 3-0 win at Salernitana on Tuesday night by scoring a brace and assisting a goal, bringing a sigh of relief and securing the first victory in over a month. Allegri and co. can make it three wins in a row when they face rival Fiorentina on Sunday, as they try to claw their way back into contention for a top-seven finish.
As for Fiorentina, they enter this clash on a four-game winless streak in Serie A, having recorded one draw and three losses since their last triumph. To make matters worse, Fiorentina have failed to keep a clean sheet in eight Serie A matches, while a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Bologna last Sunday has seen the club fall into the bottom half of the table.
When you look at the bigger picture, their run to the Coppa Italia semi-finals has recently increasingly become the focus of their season. Indeed, Fiorentina’s best chance of European qualification looks to be cup success. And they look highly unlikely to get much joy in Turin.
Here, at The Hard Tackle, we take a closer look at how both sides could line up on the night and what tactics could be deployed.
Team News & Tactics
Juventus
🗣 Sunday’s #JuveFiorentina in focus: ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/7LWy5WBovO
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) February 11, 2023
Fabio Miretti sustained a nasty ankle injury against Salernitana last time out, and the youngster joins long-term Juventus absentees Paul Pogba and Leonardo Bonucci in the treatment room. But his injury is not as bad as initially feared, as revealed by head coach Massimiliano Allegri. Arkadiusz Milik is another first-team player ruled out for this fixture.
Nicolo Fagioli should come in as a like-for-like replacement to partner Manuel Locatelli and Adrien Rabiot in the middle of the park. And Allegri could also bring Juan Cuadrado back into the side on the right ahead of Mattia De Sciglio, with Filip Kostic manning the left-wing. Federico Chiesa may have to settle for a bench spot once more.
One of those looking to directly benefit from Kostic and Cuadrado’s creative and crossing qualities will be Dusan Vlahovic, who is expected to once again lead the line for the Bianconeri after having a hand in all three of Juve’s goals in Salerno. The Serbian “Bomber” will be supported by the creator-in-chief, Angel Di Maria.
There are unlikely to any alterations at the back from the last game. Wojciech Szczesny remains a mainstay in goal for the hosts. The Polish shot-stopper will be protected by the formidable three-man central defensive unit of Danilo, Gleison Bremer, and Alex Sandro.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Szczesny; Danilo, Bremer, Sandro; Cuadrado, Fagioli, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Di Maria, Vlahovic
Fiorentina
Unlike his counterpart in the Juventus dugout, Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Italiano has no fresh injury concerns to deal with and will make the trip to Turin with an almost full-strength squad. That said, La Viola will be without suspended duo Igor and Rolando Mandragora on Sunday, while Gaetano Castrovilli is another one ruled out due to a suspected calf issue.
Italiano is likely to set up his side in his preferred 4-3-3 formation on the night. Pietro Terracciano looks set to reprise his role between the sticks. The Italian shot-stopper will start behind a back four of Dodo, Nikola Milenkovic, Lucas Martinez Quarta, and Cristiano Biraghi.
Gearing up for #JuventusFiorentina 👊#ForzaViola #Fiorentina #ACFFiorentina pic.twitter.com/smI3YBMFgN
— ACF Fiorentina English (@ACFFiorentinaEN) February 10, 2023
The technical and creative midfield trio of Giacomo Bonaventura, Sofyan Amrabat, and Antonin Barak will seek to seize control of the middle of the park in order to allow the Viola to make full use of their frontline, consisting of Nicolas Gonzalez, Luka Jovic, and Christian Kouame.
Fiorentina are capable of putting on a show and can cause serious problems for Juventus if they win the midfield battle. Amrabat is an aggressive holding midfielder who links up the play with defence and attack and will try to set the flow of the game and maintain his ball distribution, while Barak was an attacking midfielder at Verona, so more often than not, he likes to drift forwards to knit attacks.
Attacking midfielder Riccardo Saponara may also look to have a say in the game off the bench. The midfield dynamo has been on fire lately, netting twice in his last four Serie A appearances.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Terracciano; Dodo, Milenkovic, Martinez Quarta, Biraghi; Bonaventura, Amrabat, Barak; Gonzalez, Jovic, Kouame
Key Stats
- Juventus have won eight of their last nine home matches against Fiorentina in all competitions.
- La Viola have only managed to win one of their last seven league encounters.
- Juventus have only collected one point in their last two home league matches, drawing 3-3 against Atalanta and losing 0-2 to AC Monza. The last time they went on a three-game winless run at the Allianz Stadium in Serie A was at the start of the 2015-16 season.
- Only Victor Osimhen (0.94) has scored more goals per game in Serie A this season than Dusan Vlahovic (0.67).
- Juventus have won eight of their last 11 matches across all competitions, including five of their last six at the Allianz Stadium.
Player to Watch
Dusan Vlahovic
Serbian hitman Dusan Vlahovic made his first Serie A start since October in midweek. And the 23-year-old not only reminded Juventus of what he can produce when in form — scoring goals and peppering the net with powerful shots — but he also played the role of a complete No. 9 to perfection, which has been one of his main criticisms since arriving in Turin.
He displayed excellent hold-up and link-up play while making life difficult for opposition defenders with his sharp movement and menacing slick first touches. The Real Madrid target did not look rusty at all and looked to have improved on the mental side of things.
All of this tells us one thing: he is only going to grow stronger and stronger with more top-level experience under his belt, which is a frightening prospect. Up next on his hitlist will be his former club Fiorentina. Vlahovic will certainly be hoping to add to his tally of eight goals from ten starts now that he is back amongst the goals and brimming with confidence.
Prediction
Juventus 2-0 Fiorentina
Due to a points deduction, this match is essentially a mid-table clash. But Juventus vs Fiorentina have always been one of Serie A’s more entertaining games down the years. However, this one is unlikely to be a classic.
Juventus are the favourites to take the three points in Turin given their improving form and several of their attacking stars getting their mojo back. Fiorentina will be strongly motivated, as they always are, to inflict more misery on the Bianconeri; however, three defeats in their last four league outings and no wins in their past three away trips suggest otherwise.
All signs point towards a home win; it just remains to determine the extent of the damage Juventus can bestow upon an out-of-form Fiorentina outfit on Sunday. The Hard Tackle predicts the home side to coast to a comfortable 2-0 win in front of their own supporters.
